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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Understanding 9/11 Philosophically, September 25, 2002
By A Customer
Roger Scruton is one of the most extraordinary figures of our time. He is an English political philosopher who frequently appears in the British press and who has written a monumental history of modern philosophy, as well as the Oxford Past Master volumes on Kant and Spinoza, as well as seminal works on the moral philosophy of the erotic and the philosophy of music, as well as superb works of architectural and art criticism. He has even written two operas, both words and music, and two volumes of satirical pseudo-Platonic dialogues.Perhaps the most notable characteristic of his writing is its originality or freshness. In almost all his works, you get the sense that an incredibly powerful mind is confronting a question or a topic for the first time. That quality is on display here, as Scruton thinks through with his reader the questions which arise in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He argues for the uniqueness (and, perhaps, the unrepeatability) of the Western political achievement of "territorial sovereignty." He takes us through the theological, philosophical, and cultural impediments to modernization in the Muslim world. He discusses the effects of globalization on both the West and "the Rest" (of the world). Like many Americans, I read vociferously all the journalistic and many of the academic debates which followed after 9/11. Amazingly, there are more new insights and arguments in this single short book--it can be read in one or two sittings--than in dozens of other long articles and books. This is a marvelous work of synethesis, and it deserves to be the starting point for all future discussions of American policy in an age of terrorism.
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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful and provocative, October 9, 2002
British philosopher, aesthetician and cultural critic Roger Scruton's new book -- unfortunately published by a press that is a bit obscure, which means that not all bookstores will carry it -- is a stunning account of the history of the similarities and differences between the West and other social and political dispensations, in an age that will (probably) be known for globalization and terrorism. Anyone looking for a spirited defence of the notion of the West, with its special (but hopefully 'exportable') emphasis on the consent of the governed, will want to have this book.Scruton's argument is that there is something vital and special about the nexus of factors -- economic free market, extensive but not uncurbed private ownership, elected state representatives, civil society, open rather than closed parliament or legislative assembly, and independent judiciary -- that combine to creat the distinctness of Western polities (The West). What is special is that these represent an outgrowth of a long historical movement animated by the need for polities to secure the confidence and faith of its citizens. But not all states were forged in this kind of process, or tradition, which combines loyalty to a greater good (healthy patriotism and/or nationalism) with a respect for plurality, and which allows a fruitful tension between secularity and faith, and between duties and rights. Rather, some states don't have these advantages. A number of these (The Rest) are 'legitimate' states in name only (or because the UN has seen fit to include them on its roster). Here Scruton of course discusses non-Western states. But he saves his most insightful discussion for a learned inquiry into Islamic states, or more to the point, religion, focusing on Islam as a faith which has never experienced the kind of Reformation-like upheaval that could result in a State-Church separation. But these are just some of his concerns, and there are too many to discuss in a brief review. (I've said nothing about his interesting, Tory-Hegelian attitude towards globalization, which should infuriate -- though also hopefully convert -- some libertarians. Suffice it to say that Scruton refuses to fetishize the market, treating it with a healthy suspicion borne of an Burkean understanding of just how destructive of tradition, faith and established values an utterly unregulated market can be.) All in all, as always, Scruton brings his keen analytical mind, as well as his surprisingly moderate tone (for a man as reviled as he is, or was), and his gift for lucid and fascinating explanation and exploration, to bear on a number of important topics. I recommend this book without any hesitation whatsoever, and hope that it finds a vast readership (AND that a number of people go on to read his many other fascinating and well-written books, many of which are pitched at the general, educated reader).
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Profound and highly enlightening, June 10, 2003
In this fascinating book, British Philosopher (and former university professor) Roger Scruton looks at the West and the Islamic world, and examines what has brought on the present crisis. It is his contention that the both the Western and the Islamic worlds are in a state of crisis. In the Islamic world, the increase in population and the concomitant urbanization has produced alienation, while the march of globalization has brought it face to face with a Western world that it both envies and hates. In the West, the whole of Western culture is under assault from an elitist, post-Modernist "Culture of Repudiation" that wishes to tear down the culture, but has nothing to erect in its place.Along the way, Mr. Scruton treats the reader to a profound and highly enlightening look at the foundations of modern Western and Islamic political ideology; where they came from, where they are going, and what has produced such hostility. The conclusion of the book is small, with some suggestions to "constrain" the process of globalization, thus minimizing the threat perceived by the Muslim world, but nothing more far-reaching than that. I found this book to be both enlightening and somewhat frightening. Mr. Scruton's analysis suggests that the roots of the present hostility emanating from the Middle East are very deep indeed, and not likely to be ameliorated by any simple or easy solution. If there was one book that I would urge everyone to read, so as to understand the present world, this would be it! Please read this book.
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